Three former Project
Hope image ambassadors gathered in the program's Beijing
headquarters on Saturday and spoke of their own success stories to
underline its accomplishments in helping children from poor
families to access education.
The three's images, taken by then China Youth Daily
photographer Xie Hailong in 1991, touched the hearts of many,
helping raise the profile of the project and ensure it overwhelming
support.
Su Mingjuan, who had been nicknamed "Ms Big Eyes," has finished
college and now works at a bank in east China's Anhui
Province.
Hu Shanhui enrolled in the army. In his poster picture, he was
captured shouting out Chinese characters. The image was interpreted
as an earnest desire to attend school. As he had a runny nose in
the picture, people named him "Long Snivel."
Zhang Tianyi, currently at college in the eastern province of
Jiangsu, is the youngest of the three. In his picture, his head was
shaved clean. Although he was only about seven at the time, his
eyes told of a fascination with study that made him hard to
forget.
In the capital to appear in a China Central Television program,
they said it was very exciting entering the office and that it was
like returning home, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
Project Hope was founded by the China Youth
Development Foundation in October 1989 to mobilize
nongovernmental financial resources inside and outside of China to
provide and improve education in poverty-stricken areas.
By the end of 2004, it was reported to have helped 2.75 million
students, opened 11,888 primary schools, and pooled funds from home
and abroad of 2.73 billion yuan (US$330 million).
(China Daily May 23, 2005)